'\"macro stdmacro
.TH noodle 1


.SH NAME
noodle \- interactive 3d modeling program


.SH SYNOPSIS
.B noodle


.SH DESCRIPTION
.I noodle
is an interactive program for creating a variety of 3d objects.
The concept is very similar to a pasta maker in which one
chooses a noodle cross-section and pushes the dough through,
(hence the name).
.I noodle
was written using the Inventor 3d Toolkit.  It outputs Inventor files.

.PP
The 
.I noodle 
program has 5 main windows and a control panel.  
The five windows are:


Each window can be used to view or edit the object 
(with the exception of the top right window which only allows viewing).
Use the right mouse pop-up to 
switch from viewing mode to edit mode and back.

.PP
The lower left window is for drawing the noodle 
.I cross-section.
You insert and drag individual points by clicking with the left mouse
button in this view.  You can delete a point on your cross-section
by first selecting the point (note the "+" highlighting) and then
pressing the BACKSPACE key.  All four curve editing views use
the same user interface for editing. This is a 2d curve.

.PP
The top left window is for editing the 
.I taper 
along the noodle.
The default object will have no taper.  If you edit this curve
you will see the results in the 3d view (top right) and quickly
understand how to create lathe-like effects.  This is a 2d curve.

.PP
The lower middle window is for editing the 
.I spine 
of the noodle.
This is a 3d curve through space that the noodle follows.
The default object will have a straight, vertical spine.
NOTE that this curve is the only 3d curve of the four curves.

.PP
The bottom right window is for editing the 
.I twist 
along the noodle.
The default object will have no twist.  If you edit this curve
you will see how this curve twists the noodle about its spine axis.
This curve makes it easy to corkscrew-like effects.  This is a 2d curve.

.PP
Note that each of the four curve editing windows have a few
buttons to clear the curve and create a few special curves.


.PP
The top right window is for viewing your resulting object.
You cannot edit the object in this window; only viewing is allowed.


.PP
The top bar menu contains a variety of controls for
affecting the resulting noodle.  Experiment with these controls
to learn their effects.  You can save the resulting noodle
in both noodle format (noodles are stored as GeneralizedCylinder 
nodes) or standard, vanilla Inventor format (can be imported into any
Inventor program, even if the GeneralizedCylinder DSO is not loaded
on the host system).



.SH SOURCE CODE
Note that the source code to 
.I noodle 
comes with the
.I Open Inventor 3d Toolkit.


.SH FILES
/usr/share/src/Inventor/demos/noodle/* - Source to noodle


.SH SEE ALSO
SceneViewer, drop, inventor, ivview, gview, maze, qmorf, revo,
showcase, textomatic
